It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

"Nebraska's 2012 legislative session looks to be the year of the child.

"During the next four months, lawmakers will wrestle with key questions about the future of child welfare and juvenile justice in the state.

"How they answer...those questions will shape the lives of abused and neglected Nebraska children and youthful troublemakers."

But how they answer those questions will also shape the lives of regular, ordinary children too, especially since Nebraska has been showing an unsettling willingness to draw the parameters wider and wider for what constitutes an "abused" or "neglected" child or "youthful troublemaker." Nebraska has a serious problem with breaking up families – it does so at the second highest rate in the nation. And it has recently begun removing children from their families for what the state deems to be poor school attendance, under the new “truancy” law.

It’s good that Nebraska is working to address the serious problems in its child welfare system, and some positive proposals are being advanced this session. However, two of the proposals mentioned in the article, and brought together in one bill, LB 821, are deeply concerning. These proposals would only intensify the problems the system now faces.

In addition to the simple paradox of creating more government to solve a problem created by government, I believe that these two legislative proposals present a threat to every Nebraska family in another way. These two proposals would establish in Nebraska a framework that could implement the concepts contained in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), an overreaching document which the U.S. Congress has refused to ratify for 22 years.

The UN CRC was written in 1989. It aims to bring the oversight for every child's welfare under the jurisdiction of the state. You'll find that many good ideas are expressed in its wording (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm), but in practice, it replaces the judgment of parents with those of unelected state bureaucrats. It views the family with suspicion, and attempts to regulate the affairs of every family in accordance with the values (or, some might say, lack of values) of these unelected bureaucrats. It is a serious threat to the fundamental rights of parents, and thereby, a serious threat to children.

One of the features of the UN CRC at the international level is the institution of an 18-member unelected committee, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which is made up of members considered to be “experts” in child welfare. This body directs countries on how to implement the CRC’s agenda. In essence, it tells countries what they feel countries need to do to improve children’s welfare, and how to treat its citizens in accordance. It would take pages to catalogue the offenses committed by this committee against free societies, family integrity, and children’s welfare.

Now back to Nebraska. LB 821 creates a huge, unelected Children’s Commission, which “shall consist of twenty-six members representing the three branches of government and a wide array of public and private stakeholders." Not only does this echo the UN structure by creating a committee with the power of oversight and direction, it creates a commission in which all three branches of government are brought together. This is dangerous!

The protections afforded by our system of government are dependent on these branches staying separate. Bringing them together in such a fashion creates a situation in which judges will be ruling on things they've already reached consensus on with legislators and the governor; and legislators will be passing laws that they've already reached consensus on with the judges who might hear challenges to those laws. And these decisions will be about what’s best for your children.

Commissions such as this almost inevitably move the social and political climate in a direction which accepts the collective “society” as better at determining what is best for a child, than are the parents of that child. When 26 people with this kind of power sit around a table together and agree about what’s best for children, it will be very dangerous for people who have other ideas.

The agency created by LB 821, the Department of Children’s Services, is directed to be a "child-focused" agency. A child welfare system that proposes to focus on children will miss the mark. A healthy child welfare system must be “family-focused.” A “child-focused” system creates a culture in which the state employees tend to believe they always know what’s best for the children who come into their system because, once again, of the collective consensus, which they are charged to implement.

A “family-focused” system recognizes that virtually all parents love their children, that children’s psychological and often physical well-being are dependent upon being with their parents – even when there are problems – and that when there are serious problems in a family that require intervention, whether that family is wealthy or poor, well-educated or ill-educated, lives a healthy lifestyle or doesn’t, parents just need support in learning skills to care for the child they love.

Furthermore, creating this children’s agency will increase the danger to all Nebraska families as the agency seeks to do what government bodies always seek to do: increase power, and the funds that come with it. The “child welfare” system in this country is already a $1 billion-plus industry.A state children’s agency is likely to put more families in danger as it seeks to compete with other state agencies for that power and those funds.

Other sections which create serious concerns about the effects this bill would have are as follows (with commentary in red and using page and line numbers, rather than sections of the bill, to make it easier to locate):

pg. 4, line 16 - "An independent entity specializing in medicaid analysis shall conduct a cross-system analysis of current services and funding sources to...provide information which will allow the replacement of state general funds for services to at-risk children and youth with federal funds, with the goal of expanding the funding base for such services while reducing overall state General Fund expenditures on such services." They want to find ways to make Nebraska more dependent on federal dollars for its child welfare services.

pg. 7, line 1 - "The executive committee of the Nebraska Children's Commission is created. The executive committee shall consist of the members of the commission listed in subdivisions (2)(a) through (e) of this section. The executive committee shall advise the commission with respect to the interaction among the three branches of government related to child welfare programs and services. The members of the executive committee shall each represent his or her own branch of government, and no member of the executive committee shall participate in actions that could be deemed to be the exercise of the duties and prerogatives of another branch of government or that improperly delegate the powers and duties of any branch of government to another branch of government." They recognize the potential for problems in this area, and they think a line in the law will prevent it from happening.

pg. 7, line 18 - "Such networks shall permit community collaboration to strengthen the continuum of services available to child welfare agencies and to provide resources for persons outside the child protection system." They want to provide ways to draw kids into state services that are not in any need.

pg. 8, line 14 - "Provision of leadership, by the commission and the Department of Children's Services, in intentional strategies to support high-quality evidence-based prevention and early intervention services that reduce risk and enhance protection for children." This may mean appropriate services for people who are already in the system, but this is far from clear. It could very well mean that since there are many children whose family life doesn’t justify a need for state intervention, the state needs to come up with more ways to peg children as "at-risk" to get them into the system.

“Prevention” and “early intervention” rely on profiling to create categories of “pre-crime.” When applied to those who have done nothing wrong, and used to justify government involvement, it becomes preemptive intervention – “you might have a problem,” “something could happen.” An example of Nebraska already engaging in this type of “pre-filing” is the new truancy law, which operates from the premise that a child “may” become a delinquent if he misses 20 days of school, and therefore the state is justified in creating a juvenile court file on him and dragging his family through an intrusive “diversion” process. This is not something that people and families in a free society have to worry about. Passing this bill, and creating a system with this potential, would be a giant leap away from a free society, and huge danger to families.

pg. 9, line 3 - "The Department of Health and Human Services shall implement a process to obtain and utilize data analytics, business intelligence, or similar information technology for accessing real time data in order to foster better decision making with the goal of better outcomes relating to services to children and families." The biggest problems with this provision are the broad, nebulous nature of it, and the glaring question, “Why?” Why does HHS want this power? HHS is in the business of providing social services to those who need them. It should not be in the business of monitoring all Nebraskans. In light of the provision mentioned above (pg. 8, line 14), we have the potential for a system that watches people’s behavior and allows the state to pull them in although no crime has ever been committed.

There is much to be concerned about in this bill. Should these proposals pass legislative vote and become law, I believe the agenda of the UN CRC would be well on its way to being implemented in Nebraska, through the apparatus created by this bill.

The solution to Nebraska's child welfare crisis does not lie in creating more layers of government to oversee and intervene in families' lives. Instead, it lies in strengthening - through legislation and the culture it fosters - respect for the bond between parents and children, and respect for the natural rights of parents; in lies in expanding and emphasizing child welfare systems that make in-home care top priority; and it lies in scaling back - not expanding - the government apparatus that has the authority to make life-altering decisions for Nebraska's families.

The Health and Human Services Committee of the Legislature will hold the public hearing on this bill Wednesday, February 1 at 1:30, in room 1510 of the Capitol. Please contact the Health and Human Services Committee and your senator, and ask them to oppose this bill and work on a better solution to Nebraska's child welfare system crisis.

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The Personal Impact of Nebraska's School Attendance Law

We began collecting stories in April of 2011 and will continue to collect them as long as the law is abused. The stories we have collected demonstrate how our community has been impacted by Nebraska's school attendance law that counts all absences rather than "unexcused" absences for purposed of "truancy".

It may seem by the district by district breakdown that the law has impacted Millard Public Schools the most, but it is important to note that the Nebraska Family Forum grew out of the Millard Parent Society and therefore the awareness within Millard Public Schools is longstanding.

Out of the 3000+ cases referred to the Douglas County Attorney last year only 400 came from MPS. For every story collected here it is reasonable to assume that they represent dozens more who are affected who have not written their thoughts in a public way.

The Facebook Effect

Nebraska Family Forum: What we Stand For

Mission:

It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

NFF Guiding Principles:

Family is Key: We believe the family is the single most important element to a child’s ability to learn and be successful in school and life, and parents are the foundation upon which family success rests. For this reason, it’s imperative that the state honor the authority of parents as they exercise their natural rights, obligations, and responsibilities to raise, manage, direct, and educate their children.

Freedom in Education is essential: We believe that flexibility in education, school choice, stimulating curriculum, quality teachers, and innovative education reforms are essential to a family centered education. We support policies that will lead to greater parental influence in education innovation, curriculum, and choice.

Family struggles are a healthy part of life: We believe that the fundamental right of a parent does not cease to exist simply because a parent may fail to be a model parent. Parents often struggle to meet the needs of their children, but this is not in itself sufficient cause for unwanted and unwarranted government intrusion into family life. We join with Father Steven Boes of Boys Town in "proclaiming that not only are there no bad boys, as Father Flanagan taught, but there are no bad families.” There is always at least one person in a family that wants what is best for their children and is willing to ask for and receive the help they need.

Government Intrusion can be Harmful: We believe that the right of parents to raise their children without undue government interference is a fundamental liberty that has long been protected by the Constitution of the United States and is not void upon the enrollment of ones child in a public school. We warn that governments who seek to micro-manage the everyday choices of parents in pursuit prescribed outcomes, will do great harm to the integrity of the family and by extension, the well-being of children and society as a whole.

Mother… I think of all the lessons she has modeled for me throughout my life in topics from boys to academia to love in and of family to the meaning of true success… now I heed her lessons in balancing my life, work and passions. All the while, she is my teacher, one with the honored and sacred name of Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell, And would some pretty story tell, Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother.

The Simple Truths

Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~ Ernest Dimnet

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. ~ Oscar Wilde

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ~ William Butler Yeats

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. ~ B. F. Skinner

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. ~ G. M. Trevelyan

Every educated person is a future enemy. ~ Martin Bormann

I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly. ~ Michel de Montaigne

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. ~ Mark Twain

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. ~ John W. Gardner

No man who worships education has got the best out of education... Without a gentle contempt for education no man's education is complete. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding. ~ Ezra Pound

The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. ~ Robert M. Hutchins

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. ~ Albert Einstein

To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. ~ A. A. Milne

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. ~ Albert Einstein

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. ~ Abraham Lincoln

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. ~aya Angelou

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

I hated school. Even to this day, when I see a school bus it's just depressing to me. The poor little kids. ~ Dolly Parton

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. ~George Herbert

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

"The amount of freedom to which a person is entitled is strictly measured by the amount of freedom he is willing to allow his fellow man." ~ Verlan Andersen

"You complain of bad city government. It is ultimately the fault of the people themselves if it is bad... In no way can you bring about decency in your Government so quickly as by backing up the men (and women) who represent your interests, rewarding those who are faithful and punishing those who fail in their duty." ~ Theodore Roosevelt